Rain stretches the wait for Kanaan at IMS

Tony Kanaan was meant to climb into Kyle Larson’s No. 17 Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Motorsports Chevy on Tuesday.

Almost a year of anticipation — the chance to drive again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ,where he last competed in 2023 — came to naught as rain delays deleted the window for the 2014 Indy 500 winner to make his return to lapping at IMS.

But the Arrow McLaren team boss will get another chance Wednesday morning at 10am ET, provided the forecasted rain doesn’t intercede, to complete the mandatory refresher session if he ends up replacing the NASCAR star due to poor weather or other circumstances at the May 25 Indianapolis 500.

Larson wants to complete ‘The Double’ by running 500 miles at Indy and 600 miles later that night at the Charlotte Cup race, but if there’s a risk of missing his primary obligations in NASCAR, the 50-year-old Brazilian will get to make one more start and then re-retire from IndyCar.

“An up and down day for me,” Kanaan told RACER. “Get ready to run… not run… then watch the cars run. Another day of anticipation and butterflies, but I’m still pretty excited I get to do that tomorrow. We’ll go run, and get it over with.”